What Once Was Perfect
by BoandNora-ItsOneWord
Summary: Robert finds Anna alone in a fancy dress on what would have been their anniversary. Feelings get revealed. Will Anna follow her heart back to Robert? RnA.


**Chapter One**

He sees her standing on the terrace, the moonlight reflecting off the soft sculpture of her cheekbones. Her dark hair cascades down her shoulder, almost obscuring the way her red velvet dress hugs her curves. He wishes he could freeze this moment forever. _The girl of his dreams looking like something right out of a fashion magazine._

He clears his throat and she turns around, their eyes locking for a second longer then they probably should have. He wants to tell her how stunning she looks, but all he can manage is a few inaudible syllables. _Words do not do her justice. _

"Happy Anniversary Luv," he murmurs against her hair as he kisses her cheek.

"Is it really appropriate to still remember the day when…"

"You are engaged to be married to someone else," he finishes.

The silence hangs in the air but he takes a step forward. He caresses her cheek with his thumb as he looks at her. _It was now or never. _

"You'll always be Anna _Scorpio_ to _me_ Luv. Never was a more beautiful bride than my Annie."

"Robert…"

"I know. Humor me okay. Dance with me?"

"There's no music Scorpio."

"Did we really ever need it," he questions, his hand moving to the small of her back as he pulls her closer.

She puts her head on his shoulder as they move to the sound of their beating hearts. _Their one beating heart, he amends. He does not function when she is not a part of his life. She is the air he breathes. _

He tilts her chin so she is looking into his eyes, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear as he caresses her chin.

"Robert, what's…?"

"I need to say something to you okay. You can do with it as you will."

She waits for him to continue, not realizing that she was actually holding her breath. He takes both of her cheeks in his hands and smiles at her. _Good Lord, just say it Scorpio. Say it. _

"Anna, I love you. If I am being perfectly honest, I can admit that my life did not really start until the moment I met you. I have spent years trying to get over you and it is just not going to happen. You are the beginning and the end for me. "

His hand slides down her backside and he pulls her against him._ He has not held her this close since she was his_. He caresses his lips against hers, a little tentatively at first, then she parts her lips, and he sinks his tongue into her mouth. He can almost hear her heart thumping against his as the kiss grows in intensity. It is not until the need for air becomes essential that they break the kiss.

_"Robert,_" she pants, her forehead pressed against his. He is holding her in his arms as their breathing begins to slow.

"Are you going to pretend that you didn't buy this dress just for me…or that you were not hoping that I would show up here? We_ both_ know you don't wear _Red _for Finn."

His eyes flashed with a mixture of chaos and excitement and she found herself trapped between arousal and confusion. _She wanted to believe him. God knows, how she wanted to wrap her arms around him and forget the world._ She could not do that to _ether _of them.

"So what if I did? What does it matter to you if I am waiting for you in a dress that I _know_ you will like on a day that means so much to_ both_ of us? I miss you Robert. I cannot pretend that I do not think about you. Do you think I _want _to miss the way you say my name or the smile that I _know_ is _only _for me? Do you think I _like_ thinking about how you smell or the way your hugs always brighten my day. Do you think that I _enjoy _that I need you so much...or that I have been thinking about what it would feel like to kiss you...make love to you... I know that I am not _supposed_ to feel this turned on by you…that I am not _supposed_ to think of all the ways that he can _never_ be you?"

"Who cares what you're _supposed_ to feel Luv? What _do_ you feel?"

"It doesn't _matter_ how I feel Robert? How am I supposed to trust that my feelings for you are _not_ just because of what today is…or that what_ you_ feel is not brought on by the fact that I am about to marry another man? Why did it take you so long to tell me how you feel Robert?"

He takes a step forward, his hands around her waist as he looks into her eyes.

"How did you never know? There has _never_ been a day since I met you that I have _not_ been in love with you. I have not told you how I feel in all the years that we have been apart because there were times when I _know _that I did not deserve your love... and because I wanted you to be happy…even if that happiness did not include me. Anna I am just a _flawed_ man who loves you beyond reason. I could stand here all night and give you a list of all the reasons why you should probably forget all about me but I am _still _hoping that you choose the _one _reason you should give us another shot…Because _no_ man will _ever_ love a woman as much as_ I_ love _you._"

His fingers brush against hers as he drops a key card into her hand. Her eyes glisten with tears as she looks up at him.

"What are you asking of me?"

"You know _exactly_ what this means Annie. I'll be waiting for you."

"And what if I don't show up?"

"Then I will never bring this up again. You will go on to marry Finn and I will go back to trying to live without you. No hard feelings."

He brushes his lips against her forehead and turns to walk away.

"This isn't just a game to me Annie. If you show up at my hotel, I will prove it to you. "

She watches him walk away and clutches the key card in her hand. Robert was asking her to _choose_ him. He has _never_ asked her for anything in all the years she has known him. Today, on what would have been their twenty eighth wedding anniversary, he is _asking _her to give him her heart once more.  
_  
If only he knew that, he still had it. _

She sinks down into the chair and takes another sip of champagne.

_Can she do this, she wonders. Can she really take a giant leap of faith with him once more? What if it does not work out?_

_But what if it does? _

She takes off her shoes and walks up to the hotel desk. She orders a bottle of champagne.

"You got something to celebrate," Olivia asks.

"Yeah, my anniversary. It's about time we got to celebrate one."

She tips her generously to make sure no calls go through to Robert's room and walks towards the elevator with a smile that could light up the sky.

"That is one _very_ happy woman,"Olivia says to a waiter.

"Of _course _she is. Have you _seen_ the man she is meeting?"

"I have," she admits with a smile. "He _is_ rather attractive."

"If _only_ he was gay."

"And _Single_," Olivia added.

Anna hears the laughter even as the elevator doors close. It does not surprise her to know that Robert has both men _and _women looking at him in that way. _God Dammit, he is sexy. Both inside and out. _Strangers know the package, she knows the man. _She is a lucky woman that he still wants her._  
_  
Yeah she was doing this._ How could she ever _not _choose him? He was her first, her last and _everything_ in between


End file.
